I feel horrible after bombing the casey chatbot interview today during BCG first round interviews. There were two interviews - one traditional case with a person and the second one with the chatbot. I feel like I was so well-prepared for the traditional case with a person (which went very well), but when it came to doing the chatbot interview - there were no resources to prepare for this. The prompts were long with dense text, the math was also heavy, and the 25 minute time was not sufficient to do this test. I also couldn't ask proper clarifying questions about the business model so I didn't even understand the case. I also did math errors (which I realized afterwards) but since there was no feedback - I just had one chance at doing the math and my mistakes propagated throughout (this would not happen during an interview with a person). The chatbot is just not something I'm used to and as a result I bombed it and I am quite upset about it.
Is the chatbot interview weighed just as heavily as the real interview? Should I reach out to the recruiter to tell them my situation? Should I request for an additional interview with a person? Should I reach out to other contacts I have within BCG to tell them my situation?
Bombed the BCG Casey chatbot Interview
Hey there,
To add to the comments here. I have talked to 20+ people who took the test recently and their feedback is very similar.
- they were all surprised about the speed of the assessment
- the real test was more difficult than the sample test
- the instructions are sometimes confusing
- some experienced technical issues, for instance, not being able to record their recommendation video a second time
That being said, if the personal interview went very well as you highlighted, I would not worry for now. Casey is still in its infancy and it might not carry that much weight YET.
Fingers crossed and all the best,
Florian
Hi there,
Sorry to hear you struggled with the test. Regarding your questions:
1. Is the chatbot interview weighed just as heavily as the real interview?
In some offices the online case is still under testing – so it depends on the office. I believe just an insider from that particular office can provide an exact answer
2. Should I reach out to the recruiter to tell them my situation?
I would not recommend so – it is not going to have any impact
3. Should I request for an additional interview with a person?
Same as before – it is not going to have any impact
4. Should I reach out to other contacts I have within BCG to tell them my situation?
Unfortunately I am afraid it won’t also have any impact
If you have other questions please feel free to PM me.
For a complete overview of all questions and how to crack each of them, I also just published a guide on the Chatbot interview at the link below:
https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/bcg-online-case-secrets-69
Best,
Francesco
Hi there,
Unfortunately there's nothing you can do now but wait and see the result :/
It is indeed a stage-gate (at most offices now), so, just like if you don't do well during the HR screening or round 1 phase, you won't proceed.
Reaching out to people would likely only make things worse (but do what you need to do to put your mind at rest about having tried everything in your power).
My advice is to take a wait-and-see approach (you never know). If you do not proceed to the next round, remember that life goes on! You can re-apply in a year and you can make sure you're more prepared when that time comes!
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When you do, remember that there is actually a lot of prep material out there. Here is the normal answer I provide in terms of the BCG chatbot prep:
I have a simulation of the test. Feel free to message me and I can take you through it.
Now, in terms of preparation.
The best way is to really find online tests / questions and practice. Regardless as to whether is a new or old test, the principles are mostly the same:
- Time management (need to think quick)
- Business knowledge/context (incl key formulas)
- Critical thinking (answers that are very similar to each other...clues "hidden" in the text)
- Ability to interpret data/charts
Think of it as a merge of a case and the GMAT/GRE.
You need to be clear on some key case-related and account formulas (margin, growth, breakeven, etc) as well as be good at critically understanding the question (including nuance to questions) and parsing through complicated text with a fair amount of distraction.
You'll also need to be good at chart/graph reading.
The (old) McKinsey PST, BCG Online Test, Bain SOVA test, etc. are all quite similar so leverage resources across all of them (feel free to send a message and I can share some!)
Hello!
Sorry to hear about that, I was also much better in the in-perosn interviews than in the tests, so I know the feeling.
However, I strongly advise you not to do any of the things you were commenting. They won´t give you second chances -for sure-, unfortunately.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
I was wondering , what was the result . Did you get through 1st round?
Adding here a resource for those of you who are preparing for tests and need a cheatsheet with all the common formulas for the tests and cases:
Cheatsheet: The Must-Know Consulting Terms for Interviews
Best,
Cristian
It definitely isn't; I also bombed the Casey interview (Casey had to redirect me through the math section and I got cut off in the final 1-minute synthesis), but did well in the in-person and still got the final round.
However, echoing the sentiments of some of the other commenters, nothing you can do now but wait. No need to stress at this point; what's done is done. Good luck and hoping for some good news!
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